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Several Improvised Explosive Devices Defused in Golan Heights

© AP Photo / Ariel SchalitIsraeli soldiers walk back from a position on the border with Syria on the Israeli controlled Golan Heights as smoke rises following explosions, Tuesday, July 16, 2013.
Israeli soldiers walk back from a position on the border with Syria on the Israeli controlled Golan Heights as smoke rises following explosions, Tuesday, July 16, 2013. - Sputnik International
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Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967, and has been in control of them since 1981 after passing the controversial Golan Heights Law. The status of the mountain plateau is considered one of the main sticking points in the Israeli-Syrian conflict.

The Israeli Defence Force has neutralised several homemade bombs in the southern Golan Heights. In a tweet, the force put the blame on the Syrian government for "all events in Syria", noting that Israel refuses to tolerate any violation of its sovereignty.

During the 1967 Six-Day War, the territory of the Golan Heights, situated on the Syrian-Israeli border, came under Israeli control and was subsequently declared Israeli territory in 1981 under the Golan Heights Law. The move was never recognised by the United Nations.

Damascus has pledged to regain the territory one day "by any means necessary".

The Golan Heights is widely seen as an exceptionally important strategic area, chiefly due to it offering a clear view of both Syria and Israel.

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